CFB analyst highlights "biggest question" Hugh Freeze should address for Auburn to be competitive in 2025

Auburn finished the 2024 campaign with a 5-7 record, going 2-6 in Southeastern Conference play. However, the team is looking on the brighter side ahead of the 2025 season. The Tigers have a strong and experienced offensive line, and their wide receivers are among the best in the country. What they really need now is a signal caller who can play consistently.

Coach Hugh Freeze is possibly hoping that Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold can be that guy. But not everyone is convinced he’s ready to lead Auburn just yet. College football analyst Jay Crain talked about Arnold on On3’s “Hard Count” with J.D. PicKell.

“The biggest question is the one that we still don’t know, and that’s Jackson Arnold,” Crain said.

Crain mentioned that while Arnold has immense talent, having won the Gatorade Player of the Year award, he had a hard time at Oklahoma last year and was benched after four games.

“Jackson was very very slow at reading things,” Crain said. “You could tell it was a little bit too fast for him. And you’re going into a system where there’s a lot of similarities. … Is Jackson Arnold talented enough in those one-on-one coverage situations, in those RPO situations to make the right decision and get the ball out on time? I don’t know the answer to that yet.

“And I know people be like, ‘Oh, well, he had a great practice.’ Well, that’s great. … There’s guys in practice that look unbelievable. Then you take them in the game … and they just forget, they don’t know what they’re doing.”

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Another analyst believes Jackson Arnold might see growth with Auburn

While Jay Crain believes Jackson Arnold should be tested more before becoming Auburn’s QB1, other analysts think that he has a chance to reach his full potential. One of those individuals includes CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns, who wrote in his article published on Friday:

“There might not be a better buy-low candidate in college football than Arnold. He massively upgraded his situation with the transfer from Oklahoma to Auburn, trading a porous offensive line and injury-riddled receiving corps for a supporting cast that features some of the best wideouts in the nation.

"So many of Arnold's struggles in his first year as a starter can be attributed to factors outside of his control. It is hard not to envision him taking a step forward with his new team.”

The Tigers hope to protect Arnold better this upcoming season. At Oklahoma, he was pressured 132 times, which resulted in 36 sacks, mostly due to an unstable offensive line that rotated multiple players at spots like left tackle and center.